Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 90, January 2017 | Page 36

Ma Balancing Act

Journey to
Kilimanjaro

K

aren has a busy life. She works from
early morning to late evening and travels
at least once a week for business, some
of which is centred on Old Mutual’s title
sponsorship of several of the biggest events on
the SA running calendar, while balancing the
task of being a loving wife to husband Glen and
mother to daughter Andrea. So when she was
challenged to climb Mount Kilimanjaro towards
the end of 2016, just four months later, many
would have forgiven her for saying her schedule
was just too full, but Karen’s commitment to a
managed lifestyle, of balancing it all, allowed her
to find the time to train and get herself ready to
climb the highest peak in Africa.

regime that builds core, legs, cardio and overall
strength, as well as some running, as she knew
she had to up the ante to get ready for the climb
on a tight four-month timeline. “I believe that
the Adventure Boot Camp built all the strength I
needed to do the climb,” says Karen, adding that
she spent every available opportunity to climb
Table Mountain. “What was so awesome was
discovering parts of Table Mountain that I didn’t
know. That was absolutely brilliant. Also, you
meet incredible people up there, and I am a bit
of a chatterbox, so I would chat to people and
get to know them.”

In the final stages of her preparation, Karen
spent a weekend in the Drakensberg while
attending the Wild Series Mont-Aux-Sources
Challenge, another event sponsored by Old
Mutual, where she spent three days climbing. “It
gave me some altitude training, which I needed
with only three weeks to go,” says Karen. At that
point she says she felt ready for the challenge
ahead, not just physically, but also mentally:
“One of the biggest lessons was preparation and
training, because you need to make sure you
are physically strong and fit, which means then
you only have the ‘kop stuff’ to worry about,”
explains Karen.

Karen says the biggest lesson she learnt on her
various climbs on the mountain was simple:
“What goes up, must come down!” That’s why
in all her climbs, Karen never took the easy way
down with the cable car, instead going down as
she had gone up, on her own two feet. “What
people don’t realise is the coming down is
harder, so you need to make sure you build the
strength to get down, too, if you want to take on
the high mountains.”

This ‘kop stuff’ she speaks of was the mental
strength to push beyond her perceived
boundaries and get the job done. “There was
no ways that I wasn’t going to make it,” says
Karen determinedly, but she is quick to add that
she also made sure she gave herself the best
opportunity to successfully crest the mountain.
“I can’t stress enough the importance of having
the right equipment and using it i n your training
before you attempt the main climb. You need to

Boot Camp Diaries
Following a strict routine of attending Adventure
Boot Camp for Women three days a week,
Karen‘s training encompassed an all-body

36

The Importance of Altitude

ISSUE 90 JANUARY 2017 / www.modernathlete.co.za

Images: Courtesy Karen Thomas

While attending the 2016 Comrades Marathon, Old Mutual’s Head of
Brand of Emerging Markets, Karen Thomas, was invited on a journey
that would test her and humble her, and just like the 90km journey
from Maritzburg to Durban, it would change her. Here’s her story of
conquering Mount Kilimanjaro. – BY ROXANNE MARTIN